Mirrored
by Nicolai Reh
Summary: D meets an alluring Assassin, Spider. But there's something about her that doesn't sit well with D, her or her parasite Luci. What happens when he finds her to be too similar to himself? Mild language
1. Webs of Silver

Chapter 1: Webs of Silver

The beautiful revolution. Nivita stared out onto the bustling town center and breathed a sigh of relief. In this world of outcasts and demons, Nivita was lucky to be a half-breed. She had watched the downfall of the Nobility, the once proud and prosperous race, as the Humans revolted against the deep rooted fear of the creatures. Although the town she now stood in was made by older settlers and not the newer ones, the ones made by men after the Cleansing Wars, she always thought back on the earlier times with bitterness.

But here was a new town, with a new life blooming before her. Briefly, Nivita wondered how long she could make it last here. In the last village, she had only lasted a few weeks before she was found out. Here, in the town of Malhan, she was a smith, working with all kinds of materials. She was exceptionally adept as a goldsmith since her last master was a jeweler.

"Excuse me ma'am." A voice startled Nivita out of her daydream. She stood from her workbench and began to take of her thick leather gloves. A boy of ten stood next to the cold anvil, Nivita's hammer resting against it. The boy had soft, creamy skin that was supple and flawless. Under thick, brown bangs, two watery blue eyes stared up at Nivita. The youth was used to the taller than average woman but still treated her as a newcomer.

"What is it Yuki?" Nivita asked, walking over to the boy. The youth looked up at the woman and studied her green eyes. Those eyes seemed too perfect to him, like they weren't real.

"Is there something on my face?" Nivita questioned playfully and swiped at her own face. Yuki's face broke into a smile and his relaxed.

"Mother wants to know if her necklace has been fixed." Yuki replied. Nivita nodded and reached into the front pocket of her worn apron. She fished out the thinly wrought chain and let the medallion dangle in front of Yuki. The boy cupped the heavy piece of gold and Nivita let the chain drop into his hand.

"Now get this straight to your mum. Don't let your Da get it or I'll have to make her a new one okay?" Nivita instructed. The boy, wondering how much she knew, nodded before turning to exit. Since the whole side wall of Nivita's shop was gone, with the small wooden awning supported by a few posts, she watched the boy eye the throng of people. It also let in the smells and noise of the street but also the dust and rain; still, it was worth it if Nivita could watch.

"Goodbye Ms. Smith." Yuki said as he rushed off into the dusty road. Clouds of red rose up in his footprints but they quickly settled. Nivita shook her head and sat back down at her workbench. Smith was a common name given to all poor smithies that didn't have a surname. There had been a time when Nivita had had a real name and surname, one that brought more honor than the local lord here. But that was before the revolutions, before she had been bought and sold. Nivita looked down at the silver wrist bands she wore. They had been treated so she could wear them without damaging her skin, but they were still bond symbols and told all of the townspeople that she was a slave. However, against tradition, Nivita still had her fangs and kept her brown hair long.

For awhile, Nivita tinkered with a few silver pieces, making sure to keep her gloves on. She worked delicately as her fingers were thick and stiff in the leather and the chain was dainty. Finally getting fed up, Nivita ripped off her gloves and hunched over the piece. She felt the silver burn her flesh but she worked deftly with her tools. Finally, she laid down the finished piece and put her finger over the diamond drop. A pinprick of blood dripped onto it and Nivita pulled back her hands in horror. She licked her fingers hurriedly before pulling out a soft rag. She wiped the diamond and clutched the rag in her hands. Her fingers burned and Nivita's skin prickled at the sensation. Still, she was more worried about the result of her blood on the diamond drop. She watched the red smear seep into the diamond and gave it a pinkish hue.

"Of for the love of…" Nitvia sighed and rubbed her face. The lady who wanted the necklace was one who would go into conniptions if something was wrong with her jewelry. Nitvia peeked through her fingers, down at the diamond, and sighed heavily.

Standing, Nitvia felt a stiffness in her fingers and knees. She stretched lightly and looked around her shop. She had had only a trickle of patrons during the early morning, and now that it was coming to the hottest part of the day, her customers would take a severe cut in numbers. With one last look to the pathway outside, Nitvia walked to the door that lead to her home. The wood was old and scarred but Nitvia liked the fact that it was hers. She had pieced the wood together and put it on the house that she had built with the other villagers.

Pushing past the door, Nitvia was greeted by a rush of cold air. Sweat gelled on her body, making her clothes stick and salt collect in the corner of her eyes. She closed the door quickly as she felt the air swirl around her ankles in a mad rush to try and escape the house. Nitvia relaxed as she continued to walk down the little hallway to her kitchen. She paused in the doorway and felt another rush as a black form spread out from her feet. She collected her energy and pulled the edges of the stain into a shape.

"What do you want." Nitvia demanded sternly. Her voice strained as she turned around. Her shadow crept up her body and perched on her shoulder, one claw digging into her shirt.

"Are you the one they call Spider?" A man asked as he walked around the corner. The shadow took on a rounder shape, with a small head like appendage on top. The head turned and eyed the man with void eyes.

"Who wants to know?" Nitvia questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. The man didn't waver but Nitvia knew he was cracking.

"My boss wants to hire you to kill a Vampire Hunter named D." The man said quickly. Nitvia nodded and her shadow fluttered bony, black wings.

"I know of this man." Nitvia murmured. She had heard of the dhampir, she had learned everything she could with all considering.

"Five million up front for the job. Five more when you bring back his pendant." The man heaved out in one breath. Nitvia smiled coldly and glanced over at her shadow.

"I'm going to tell you how this goes." Nitvia started and her shadow melted onto her shoulder, pouring down her arm to make a second skin. "You come at night since I have another job. Also, I don't meet with minions, I meet with the boss. Finally, I am bigger than you, you will address me with respect." While she was speaking, her shadow spread to cover her entire body. Now Nitvia grew in size and her jaws jutted out in sharp angels. Her hands became large claws and she snatched the man, cutting into his arms.

"How am I to get him?" Nitvia asked. Her voice tore through a red slice in her face and came out in a guttural roar. The man flinched but he came back with a smile.

"A half shadow demon." He muttered. "My boss has called for his assistance. The Hunter will be here in four days." Nitvia released the man and he stumbled backward.

"Get out." She hissed. The man bowed and backed out quickly, using the back door he had entered through. Nitvia sighed and felt her shadow recede.

"A new job. New blood." A great maw in the shadow opened and faced Nitvia. The woman shrugged and pushed the shadow down.

"Shut it Luci." Nitvia huffed and walked into the kitchen. "I was just trying to get a simple glass of water. 


	2. DoBaI

Chapter 2: Dreams of Blood and Iron

He woke up in a clearing and right away, he knew he was dreaming. The horizon tilted at a strange angle and the sun dripped down the landscape like blood. But that was in the distance; here, where D stood, it was the middle of the afternoon and a slight breeze blew in the open plain. The grass at his feet shimmered silver as it was moved by the slight gusts. Looking up, D found a woman sitting with her back to him. Her hair was silver and rushed down her back in a torrent. She wore a dusty old dress, the color of crushed roses, a deep red with black edges.

D heard crying and it took him a moment to realize it came from the still form before him. He took a step and heard a rush, like a wall of water had just come crashing down on him. He looked around and saw the same clearing but could hear noises, he could smell fire.

"They hate us." A strange voice said. It sounded as though there were two people speaking in perfect time.

"We never did anything to them but they killed us. They are just as bad as some of us, yet they are the more protected." D continued to walk forward but now hear the whispers of a battle.

"Even our own kind turns against us to defend them. But they are not perfect. They kill their own, they beat their wives, they do sick things to children. Some of us, we are good people." D figured that this girl was the one speaking, but she would not face him.

"We cared about each other and Maman and Papa cared about the people in the village. But then they killed us, for no reason than basic hate. They hated us because we brought them back from the brink of destruction and some of our kind is rotten. But we had only done well for them." D finally made it behind the girl and crouched there. His pendant flashed brilliantly and the girl turned. Her face was veiled by her hair and D pushed it aside. Her silver eyes reflected light back at him and they seemed big set in her pale face. Her body looked young but her eyes spoke of ages between them.

"I have never tasted human blood except once. I bit the man who tried to kill me on his arm. I bit my own uncle." The girl whispered, this time with her own voice and her lips moved softly. Her lips were so pale that D couldn't tell she even had one, except for when she spoke.

"Why do you kill us? Why don't you kill the evil in both races and leave us good people alone?" She asked. Bloody tears welled in her eyes and traced red lines down her face. D smoothed away one line with his thumb and it looked like the woman was wearing a grotesque form of makeup, but only for a moment. Then the blood was absorbed into her skin and she looked as pure and clean as freshly fallen snow.

"We are exactly the same." She said and held out her arms to him. D stood, picking the girl up as he did. She was light and he cradled her body easily.

"You never fell in love with a human. You've always sensed the difference between your blood and theirs. But you never wanted a Noble because you hated them." The girl said as she laid her head on his chest. She played with the blue pendant and traced over the surface with her thin fingers. D began to walk but with no destination in mind.

"But you and I are the same. High Nobility blood carried in a poor mortal vessel. But you're higher than me. Could you stoop so low, to only a Countess? But I believe that your father went as a Count for such a long time…" The girl drifted and let go of the pendant.

"Could you love me D?" She asked. D said nothing but continued to walk. The noise of battle waned and there was only that calm rushing, like a tide going in and out.

"Could you love me even though I am part Nobility? Even if I am related to one that you tried to kill?" The girl questioned again. D refused to reply and felt his steps become heavier. He looked down and found himself wading in blood. He looked up and saw an ocean of the red liquid.

"We will be whole D." The two voices in one were back. D felt a sharp prick and found that he couldn't move his head to look down at the girl in his arms. With the little visual mobility he had, D could see down the back of the girl's dress and found a symbol of a large spider stamped there.

"Drink from me D. Be wed in blood." The girl slurred. D looked down and found that the girl's skin had taken on a pinkish hue. She looked human and her eyes closed sleepily. D's fangs extended and before he could stop himself, he lifted the girl's neck with his wrist and punctured her slender throat.

As he drank, D could hear laughing. He pulled away and found a fountain spurting from the girl's wound. He dropped her and watched as she sank like a stone in the ocean of blood. D started to back away but the laughing only grew louder. D looked over his shoulder and looked back in time to see a rush of red shoot up from his feet. A clawed hand ripped the blue pendant away from his neck and a body formed from the wrist. A naked woman dripped in front of him with a smile sliced across her face.

"Son of a dragon." The blood woman said. D then watched as she crushed the pendant in her hand.

"You won't need that anymore." She hissed and dropped the shattered pieces into the ocean.

"Wake up!" D jolted upright and looked down. The palm of his left hand boiled and a face rose up from the depths.

"You were having a nightmare." The parasite said.

"I don't have nightmares, or dreams for that matter." D retorted curtly.

"Then we have demons on our tail." The parasite snapped back just as sharply.


	3. Black Widow

Chapter 3: Black Widow

Nitvia rubbed her face and sighed as she walked away from the mayor's house. By the skin of her fangs, she was able to sway his wife into believing that the pink diamond was a rare jewel found in the ash of a burnt Noble's house. Although the Humans hated the Noble's, the richer ones had a secret lust to become something like them, gods in their own way. So the mayor's wife had taken the necklace gleefully and paid Nitvia double her original amount.

As she made it out into the main street, Nitvia felt an energy crackle in the atmosphere. She sniffed at the dusty air and knew that there were no malicious demons near by, but something was definitely going wrong. Nitvia paused under an electric light and stretched out her shadow. Pulling the contours of the shadow in, a shape rose from the pounded earth. A woman in an old dress clutched at the hood of a cloak with bony white hands. When the shadow turned to Nitvia, she had no face, only an empty hole where a head should be. In fact, if it weren't for the hands, the dress seemed to be hanging on nothing.

"Go out and see what's wrong. I need to get my things." Nitvia ordered. The shadow bowed gracefully, black silk folding into the black cloak. As the shadow began to move off, Nitvia stopped again.

"Luci, don't touch anyone." Nitvia called out. The shadow stopped, nodded, and then continued to drift off. Nitvia muttered under her breath as she ran to her shop, passing men on the street who watched her in morbid curiosity. Nitvia had to slow herself and continued to curse under her breath; if she wasn't more careful, they'd figure out that she was no mere half demon and it would only be a matter of time before they tried to kill her.

Skidding to a halt, Nitvia grabbed a worn cloak off a peg in her workshop. Underneath it was a band of leather and a sheath, both of which she grabbed after tossing the cloak over her arm. Slinging the sheath over her shoulder, Nitvia tied the mask over her nose and mouth. As she draped the cloak over her shoulders, Nitvia took off running again. As she did, her boots became like new, the leather being made of the finest skin. Her cloak was thickly spun wool, died blue for her expenses. The mask molded to her face and covered her features, except for her flashing green eyes. No one would mistake her for a poor smithy in this darkness, even though her spell was not complete.

Nitvia could smell the blood before she heard the crowd. When she rounded the corner, Nitvia had to fight the urge to snarl. Her fangs bared under the stiff leather and she stiffened. Before her was a scene that she loathed. A small crowd had gathered to watch as a man beat a small, female Kitsune. The Kitsunes were more experiments done by the Nobles but these were attempts to modify the human gene to make them more able to survive in the new and harsher land. The Nobility had tried to mix human genes with animal, giving them the benefit of animal instincts. Only a few breeds had survived and the Kitsunes were one of them. They were half fox, half human and could switch between the two, similar to the werewolves that roamed the land.

After the Cleansing Wars, the experiments had scattered and the Kitsunes traveled in packs. They were admired for their lithe bodies and fair coloring so many hunters had started kidnapping Kitsunes and selling them as slaves. This Kitsune was one such example but hers was worse, her owner had forced her to wear a collar that kept her in her hybrid mode, caught between a fox body and that of a human's, which was extremely painful. She cowered at the feet of her master, her ears flat against her head and her naked body pressed close to the ground. She barked and skirted away as her master brought down his electric whip.

"She bit him as he raped her, and then this happened." Nitvia turned as Luci slid back to her. Nitvia nodded and threw back her cloak. Unsheathing her sword caused some of the watchers to turn. Their faces paled as they saw the glittering blade and the handle that was crisscrossed with strands of white gold. At the end of the hilt, a huge black widow glittered like a gem. The few people who saw her ran back to their homes, to warn the others about the assassin that had showed up in their small town.

"You know what I need you to do." Nitvia whispered. Luci nodded and began to melt into a blob of what seemed like black tar. She reformed and took on the shape of Nitvia, copying her down to her worn cream blouse and tattered breeches.

"For you Master." Luci said, her voice becoming like that of the smith. Nitvia waved her off and watched as her decoy blended with the crowd, gossiping and raging with the rest of the populous.

"Ungrateful bitch!" The man up front yelled and the Kitsune yipped sharply after the whip cracked. Nitvia could stand it no longer and began to push through the crowd. She came to the front and watched as the man reared up to strike again. This time, as the whip fell, Nitvia dashed forward and caught the leather strike on her arm. The metal end bit through her sleeve and into her arm, spreading the electric shook through her muscle. Instead of twitching and yelling, Nitvia cracked her wrist and grabbed part of the whip and wrenched it out of the man's grasp. She flung it to the ground, all the while keeping her grip on her sword.

"Who the hell are you?" The man slurred. From here, Nitvia could smell the sour spirits on his breath and the general reek of his body.

"You don't recognize the famed assassin Spider? The woman wanted by the Capital?" Nitvia asked. She then grabbed the edge of her cloak and dabbed at her eyes.

"Oh that hurts, really it does." She cried and let go of the fabric. She then unclasped it and turned to the Kitsune. She couldn't unlock the collar without shattering it around the girl's neck without the key but she did put the cloak over her naked form.

"Are you alright?" Nitvia asked. The girl grabbed at the cloak and nodded warily. Her face was covered in small cuts and bruises; her left eye had swollen shut.

"What's your problem girly?" The man snarled. Nitvia turned back to him and leaned on her sword.

"You are the owner of this creature are you not?" Nitvia asked. The man laughed nervously and looked around. The crowd had shifted away, leaving him very exposed.

"Yeah, what of it?" He retorted. Nitvia grinned under the mask, her fangs pressing into her lips.

"So anything coming to this girl must go through you first correct?" She went on. The man looked confused, his eyes were scared. Nitvia picked up her sword and began moving forward. With every step she took, the man grew visibly more and more nervous.

"Let me rephrase. If a man were to pay for her services, you would receive her money for her right?" Nitvia questioned.

"Yes, she's mine." The man said, a little arrogantly. Even in the face of death, Humans were prideful things.

"So therefore, anything that is hers is really yours." Nitvia stated. The man lifted his chin and looked down on her, an act that Nitvia used to kill for.

"Yeah." He said haughtily. Nitvia couldn't resist the smile and was grateful for her mask. She could smell the sweat, dirt, piss, and alcohol on this man but underneath it, seeing in the glowing veins, were fear and blood.

"You beat her a lot?" Nitvia inquired. The man got nervous again.

"The bitch tried to bite me." He said and held up a slightly marred hand. Nitvia nodded and continued to advance, the distance between the two becoming more intimate. She stopped when she was an arm's length away and twisted her sword with an air of experience only aged masters had.

"So when she misbehaves, you beat her to remind her of her place." Nitvia suggested. The man nodded and Nitvia looked down at her sword.

"How many times has she bitten you?" She asked.

"Twice." The man replied.

"So you've beaten her only twice right?" Nitvia shot back. She looked up at him when he didn't answer. "More than twice huh?" Nitvia nodded and looked back at the girl. She looked terrible as she shivered in the warm night air.

"Well, as she has received something, I believe you are owed my good man." Nitvia said as she turned back. The man looked positively frightened.

"What?" He stammered. Nitvia laughed and brought up her sword.

"D'you know why I'm called Spider? It's because my original mistress had a birth mark that looked like a spider right on her back. She was a Noble. Out of spite, my next master branded me with a spider right on my back." She said. The man's eyes rolled wild with fear and confusion.

"What does that matter?" He asked. Nitvia stared at him dead in the eyes.

"Nothing." She said and brought her sword up. She pierced the man's body between the ribs and pushed. Hearing bones crack, Nitvia pushed harder with her right hand while she struggled with the grip becoming slick with blood. The man's eyes rolled up into his head as the point of blade met resistance at his spine. With a roar, Nitvia thrust through and skewered the man, except the she was now imbedded inside his chest up to her wrist. She put her other hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him off of her sword and into the dirt. She ignored the quickly cooling blood on her hand and knelt by the corpse. By now, the crowd had scattered, not wanting to see what the assassin would do next.

"What are you looking for?" Luci, after securing an alibi for Nitvia, asked as she came gliding back. Nitvia grunted and reached around in the dead man's soiled trousers. She found the key and pulled it out.

"I've got to finish this." Nitvia said and stood. She quickly walked back to the Kitsune and crouched in front of her. The Kitsune looked down at Nitvia's blood covered hand and smiled.

"Thank you." She said with a raspy voice. Nitvia shook her head and patted the girl's cheek.

"Don't thank me yet. Where did you bite him?" She asked. The girl sighed and pointed first to her neck and then to her wrist. Nitvia untied her mask with her clean hand and gave it to Luci. Then she placed her fingers lightly under the girl's chin and urged her forward. Nitvia put her lips to the girl's soft neck and felt her tremble with something other than fear. With a gentle bite, Nitvia barely broke the skin on the girl's neck. She then picked up her wrist and did the same there. After she had finished, Nitvia took the key she had laid on her knee and unlocked the collar. For a moment, the girl stayed in her hybrid form and smiled.

"You are not as you present yourself." She said cryptically. Nitvia shrugged and watched as the girl's form collapsed and reformed as a large fox, red fur and all. The Kitsune stood on her hind legs, her front paws landing on Nitvia's chest. Her long nose poked forward and Nitvia received a light lick on her mouth. Nitvia stood and the Kitsune barked before turning and running off into the evening.

"Let's hurry back to the workshop before someone sees you." Luci said and handed back the mask. Nitvia grabbed it in her clean hand and looked down at her sword.

"This is going to be a bitch to clean." She groaned and started walking off, not watching as Luci melted back toward the ground becoming another one of the shadows.


End file.
